City Manager's recommendation on convention center pending

Decision to renew or terminate contract to be made by the end of the month

By Steve Ramirez

sramirez@lcsun-news.com @SteveRamirez6 on Twitter

Posted:
09/01/2013 04:33:51 PM MDT

LAS CRUCES >> City Manager Robert Garza has a month to try to renegotiate a management contract for the Las Cruces Convention Center with Global Spectrum.

"By Oct. 1 I've got to hammer out a new agreement that I feel comfortable enough to take to our (City) Council," Garza said. "...By then, I'll be prepared to go before the council with a recommendation to either renegotiate or terminate Global Spectrum's contract."

If a revised contract can't be reached, "Plan B" would go into effect. A request for proposals process would resume. That would determine which local businesses would have contracts with the city for convention center operations, such as management of the facility's kitchen and maintenance and janitorial services.

"If a renegotiated contract isn't possible, then overall management of the convention center would be taken over by the Convention and Visitors Bureau," Garza said.

The city and Global Spectrum have a five-year contract to manage the Las Cruces Convention Center, but there is a provision in the contract that enables the city to opt out of the agreement after three years.

Garza has said he has concerns about Global Spectrum being able to book convention center events from out-of-town organizations and businesses.

"Global Spectrum's job is to fill our convention center as a business," Garza said. "Our hope was it would be all out-of-town customers."

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Apparently, a global economic recession has put a crimp into those plans. As the economy has spiraled downward, and is now showing signs of slow rebounding, the convention center has begun showing it, too, can be more profitable.

"Right now, it's not making the revenues they hoped it would," said Garza, of mutual projections shared by Global Spectrum and the city.

David Hicks, general manager of the Las Cruces Convention Center, said he is optimistic Global Spectrum and the city can reach a modified agreement.

'We're excited about those discussions we'll have with the city," Hicks said. "We would very much like to continue a long and productive relationship with the city of Las Cruces."

There is some question about exactly when the convention center opened, and that will factor into the timing of Garza's recommendation to the council. A "soft" opening of the facility was staged in December 2010, and its formal "official" opening was in January 2011.

To avoid any confusion, Garza said the timing of his recommendation about the convention center's management contract would be based on the December opening of the facility.

"The contract stipulates that if the city is going to exercise its early-out option it has to provide a 60 day notice to Global Spectrum," Garza said. "That would mean that all things taken into consideration we would want to let them know, one way or the other, by early October."